MINE CREEK BATTLEFIELD WORK DAY

MINE CREEK BATTLEFIELD WORK DAY

April 7, 2007

Submitted by John Spencer, SVC, Camp 6

Photos by Mike Halfman, Camp 1

The work crew. Front Row (l to r): Roy Lafferty, Shawn Bell, Todd Meek, Jon Goering,
C.J. Allen. Back Row (l to r): Dept Commander Randy Durbin,
Dale Rouse, Verle Olson, Tom Schmidt, Mike Halfman, John Spencer.
Not pictured: Mike Hadl, Arnold Schofield.

About thirteen SUVCW brothers from the Department of Kansas braved the cool weather on Saturday, April 7, and worked several hours at the Mine Creek Battlefield, near Pleasanton, Kansas. One group set about clearing major limbs and fallen trees from the creek bed upstream from the LTC Frederick Benteen Bridge. The smaller brush was burned in several fires, which were started with great skill by Jon Goering. Department Commander Randall Durbin mentioned after lunch that nobody could pay him enough to work this hard. It's funny how the fraternal bond of the SUVCW, free donuts, and a History Channel T-shirt can motivate such men to achieve so much in so little time. After lunch, this group migrated to the Main Ford at Mine Creek and cleared and burned brush from the north bank and a pile of logs and debris which had settled in the ford itself.

The second group, under the supervision of Site Curator Arnold Schofield, burned several brush piles located south of Kansas Highway 52. They also took down several cedar trees which had invaded the prairie environment. Arnold is also Commander of Mine Creek Camp 6. The first group was more loosely supervised by Brother John Spencer, also of Mine Creek Camp 6 and President of the Mine Creek Battlefield Foundation. Both men would like to sincerely thank the brothers who participated in the 7th Annual Battlefield Work Day. It was a day full of not only work, but fun and fraternal comradeship. We look forward to having an even larger group participating next year.